Bruins clinch Presidents' Trophy, home ice advantage throughout playoffs
Bruins clinch Presidents' Trophy, home ice advantage throughout playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins have won the Presidents' Trophy by clinching the NHL's best record, and as a result, they will have home ice advantage throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The decisive result came Thursday night when the B's defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime at TD Garden.
The B's now lead the league with a 58-12-5 record. Their 58 wins are a new team record, besting the previous mark of 57 set by the 1970-71 Bruins.
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This is the fourth Presidents' Trophy the Bruins have won since the award was introduced in the 1985-86 season. They also won it in 1989-90, 2013-14 and 2019-20.
Presidents' Trophy winners have not fared well in the playoffs, especially in recent years.
Only eight of the 36 winners also won the Stanley Cup, with the most recent example being the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. Only one of the last nine Presidents' Trophy winners advanced past the second round of the playoffs. It was the 2014-15 New York Rangers, who lost in the Eastern Conference Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
So, the Bruins do not have history on their side, but luckily for them, they have the deepest and most talented roster the franchise has had in a long time.
